12.Nxe4
Bxh2+ 13.Kxh2 Qh4+ 14.Kg1 Qxe4 15.Re1 Qg6 leads to an unclear position with
chances for both sides.
12...g6
13.Qh3 13...Nf6 14.Nd2 e5 15.Qh4 Nh5 16.Ndxe4 Be7 17.dxe5 hxg5 18.Bxg5 Bxg5
19.Nxg5 Bd7 It
is important for all of black's pieces to come into the game so that the piece
advantage will tell.20.f4
A
move like g4 is never a threat because if white takes the knight, black plays
Rxh5 20...Qb6+
21.Rf2 21.Qf2
Nxf4 22.Qxb6 Ne2+ 23.Kf2 axb6 24.Kxe2 Bb5+ 25.Ke3 Bxf1 26.Rxf1 Rxa2
21...0-0-0
Black
has to get his king out of the center before white can organize his pieces and
manuever his knight to d6
22.Nxf7
Rdf8 23.f5
This
strong move came as a complete surprise to me. I missed my opponent's idea of
bringing his queen back into the game. Now that the pawn is no longer on f4
Nxh8 is a threat, and if the rook moves the central pawns will destroy my
position. Therefore it is necessary to launch a counterattack [23.Nd6+ Kb8 and
black has a strong counterattack; 23.Nxh8 Rxf4]23...Rxf7
24.Qc4+ Bc6 25.Qxf7 Nf4 26.fxg6

This
game was played in round 8 of the 6th New York International. After 7 rounds, I
was tied for first with GM Shankland and IM Molner. Even though I was black, I
decided to play for a win and fight for the first place till the end. That's
why the Sicilian Defense was my choice for this game. 1.e4
c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4

So far, I was
having the tournament of my life. I had played with two 2600 GM's, drawing with
one (Shankland) and beaten a couple of higher rated. With 4.5/7, a 2504
performance, and an opponent rating average of 2402, I was in contention for an
IM Norm. A win with GM Kekelidze would seal the deal. I'd achieve an IM Norm
and possibly have a shot at a GM norm. It was clear to me what result I was
playing for :)
1.e4 d6
A huge surprise. I was expecting a Sicilian or
1.e5. According to the databases, he has never played this before. 2.d4 Nf6
3.Nc3 e5 This is a very solid line for Black, and a great way to avoid
theory. 4.Nf3

Personally, I don't think White has any advantage in the
endgame after 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 There are several options for White now.
I've inserted a game played fairly recently by the #1 player in the World.
6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Bg5 Be6 8.0-0-0 Nbd7 9.Nb5 Ke7 10.Nxd6 cxd6 11.Bb5 Rhd8 12.Nd2 h6
13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 a6 15.Bxd7 Rxd7 16.f3 Rc8 17.Kb1 Nh5 18.Nf1 f5 19.exf5 Bxf5
20.Ne3 Bg6 21.Rd2 Ke6 22.b3 b5 23.Kb2 d5 24.Re1 Nxg3 25.hxg3 h5µ 0-1 Vallejo
Pons,F (2697)-Carlsen,M (2843)/Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012/CBM 151 (41)4...Nbd7
5.Bc4
5.g4!? is an entertaining option for those who seek wild and
complicated games :) I tried this move a few months ago against an IM, but it
was to no avail and I was lucky to escape with a draw.5...Be7 6.0-0 0-0
7.Re1 c6
7...a6 8.a4 b6 is another playable line for Black. 8.a4 My
knowledge of this line ended here.
8...h6
8.h6 is certainly not the
only move. Black has other viable options, such as the most played8...b6 after which White plays 9.d5 with the
aim of fighting for the d5 square after 9...Bb7 10.dxc6 Bxc6 11.Bg5
9.b3
I
had no plan here and was just playing moves based on vague ideas. [9.h3 is best
here. 9...Re8 10.Ba2 To be honest, I don't understand this move but if it's
played by the top GM's , dont' question it :) 10...Qc7 11.Be3 Nf8 12.a5 Bd7
13.d5 b5 14.axb6 axb6 15.Qd3 Reb8 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.Nh4 Ne6 18.Nf5 Bf8 19.b4 Nf4
20.Bxf4 exf4 21.Nd4 Bb7 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.Bxd5 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Nxd5 25.exd5 Re8
26.Nc6 Qd7 27.Kf1 g6 28.Ra7 Qc8 29.c4 h5 30.b5 h4 31.Ra6 Qc7 32.Qd4 f3 33.gxf3
1-0 Balogh,C (2601)-Pavasovic,D (2578)/Austria 2011/EXT 2012] 9...Re8 10.Ba3
This is more of an artifical move. The bishop will never really pose any
harm to the d6 pawn/square.
10...Qc7 11.Qd2 Nf8
The right plan for
Black. The idea of a knight coming to f4 was intimidating to me. I decided to
take action in the center.12.d5 Unfortunately, this doesn't really do much
other then preventing Black from using the e6 square for his Bishop or
Knight.
12...Bg4?
The bishop is
just wasting tempi here. The immediate 12...Ng6 looked better to me. I'll
probably be forced to play some ugly move like 13.g3 which really weakens the
light squares around my king.13.Qe3?
A weak response from my side.
Protecting the knight with 13.Re3 was much stronger. Now if Black plays like he
did in the game, with 13...Ng6 14.h3 Bd7 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Rd1 White starts
mounting serious pressure on d6. It looks like that a3 bishop comes in handy
after all :)13...Ng6 14.h3 Bd7 15.dxc6?!
Here I was completely
oblivious to Black's counterplay. Maintaining the tension with15.Red1 is better.
15...bxc6 16.Red1 Rad8

It was now I realized that I'm actually in deep trouble.
Black just plays Be6, followed by a central break with d5. 17.Ne2? Looking
back, I have no clue what I was thinking when I played this. A knight coming to
f4 is the least of my worries right now. [17.Rd2 was another move I'd
considered, but I wasn't in favor of spoiling my structure after 17...Be6
18.Rad1 Bxc4 19.bxc4]
17...d5!
17...Nxe4 Another good move, which I
thought was stronger is18.Bxf7+ Kxf7
19.Qxe4 d5 20.Qe3 Bf6 and I can't even find a plausible move for me here.18.Bxe7
Nxe7 19.Bd3 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Ned5 21.Bxd5
Here I was losing spirit and would be
content with a draw. Our silicon friend recommends21.Qd3 but I really cannot see myself moving
my queen "In the Line of Fire."21...cxd5 22.c3 a5
A natural
move, aiming to fix my queenside pawns.23.b4
The only practical option if I want to win. Basically, it comes down to a
race between his central pawns, and my passer pawns. 23...axb4 24.cxb4 d4
25.Qb3 Be6 26.Qb2 d3 27.Nc3 e4 28.Nb5 Qf4
After I played this, I started
to panic because I realized that 28...Qc2 would win for him after 29.Qxc2 dxc2
30.Rxd8 Rxd8 31.Nfd4 Bb3! 32.a5 Bc4 and there is no feasible way to prevent
Bxb5,Rd1.29.Qd2The only move.
29...Nd5 30.Qxf4 Nxf4 31.Nfd4 Bc4
32.Nc6 Ne2+!
Preventing Nbd4. 33.Kh2 Bxb5?
This throws away a major
portion of the advantage. I noticed during the game that33...Rd7 was simply winning for him.34.Nxd8
Bxa4 35.Rd2 Nc3 36.Rc1? Returning the favor.
36...Ne2?
Black would have a high
probability of winning after 36...Nd1 37.Rdxd1 Bxd1 38.Rxd1 Rxd8 39.g4 Kf8
40.Kg3 g5!37.Ra1 Rxd8 38.Rxa4
After the simplifications, I have no
problem here. With 3 moves to go before the time control, Mikheil was down to
50 seconds, while I had 3 minutes.
38...f5 39.b5 Rb8 40.Rb4 Rb6?
Mikheil
errs on the last move before the time control. Now, I'm playing for
the win.

41.g4 I decided on this move over f3, because I thought that
after his 41st move I can make use of his seventh rank weakness to set some
mating traps. However, believe it or not, Black can draw with a study like
continuation. [41.f3 This also wins. The reason I didn't play this move was
because I thought that Black can do 41...e3 42.Rxd3 f4 but43.Ra3 Ng3 44.Rxf4 e2 45.Ra1 Nf1+ 46.Kg1 Rxb5
47.Kf2 wins for White.]
41...g6
This loses immediately. [41...Nc3 also
loses to 42.gxf5 Rxb5 43.Rxb5 Nxb5 44.Kg3 Nd6 45.Kf4 Nc4 46.Ra2; Black's
brilliant resource is 41...Rf6!! I suggested this move to the computer,
whereafter it produced the miraculous. 42.b6 fxg4 43.b7 Rxf2+ 44.Kh1 Rf1+
45.Kg2 e3 46.b8Q+ Kh7 47.Rxe2 (47.Rb1 Rf2+ 48.Kh1 exd2 Amazingly enough,
this is a draw. 49.Qb4 d1Q+! 50.Rxd1 g3 and White is forced to take the
perpetual after 51.Qe4+ Kg8 52.Qe6+ Kh7 53.Qe4+ Kg8 54.Qe6+) 47...dxe2
48.Rb1 gxh3+ 49.Kh2 e1Q 50.Rxe1 Rxe1 Black easily holds a draw here, due to his
numerous pawns. Even if his pawn on e3 was to be captured, he just puts his
Rook on f6 and waits.42.gxf5 gxf5 43.f3 Nc3 44.fxe4 fxe4 45.Rc4 Nb1
45...Nxb5
46.Rxe4 with a slow, technical win for White.; 45...e3 46.Rxd3 e2 47.Re3 Nxb5
48.Rb4+-46.Rb2 d2
This poses no danger as my two rooks easily overcome
Black's pawns. [46...Na3 47.Rxe4 Rxb5 48.Rxb5 Nxb5 49.Re3+-47.Rxb1 e3
47...Rxb5
48.Rd1 e3 49.Re4 Rb3 50.Kg2+-48.Re4 Rd6 49.Rd1 Rd3 50.Kg2

An extremely
lucky win, which clinched me my first IM Norm! A fitting and conclusive irony
is that after being unlucky with GM's, allowing them to slip away at the end of
the game, I managed to slip away from a GM this time :) 1-0